Tagged: Port Brewing

Over the holidays we did a mini-vertical tasting of Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout (2014-2015), and the special Bourbon Barrel Aged (2013-2015) variation. Here’s how the stouts aged, and their flavors developed over time.

Looking to expand production, the co-owners of Pizza Port, Vince and Gina Marsaglia, founded Port Brewing Company, LLC in 2006. Their third partner in this new venture was world renowned brewmaster Tomme Arthur, also the former head brewer at Pizza Port.

The Hop Concept’s initial offering was one of the better IPAs we’ve had in a while. We had high hopes for their Hop Freshener series, and they delivered. But why expect anything less from Lost Abbey / Port?

I’m going to try something new for this review, (more like recommendation) and combine two beers into one post: Santa’s Little Helper, and the special edition Bourbon Barrel Aged Santa’s Little Helper.

To brew this Imperial IPA, 15 hop varietals are used, with each one progressively added to the boil every 15 minutes. Hence the name, Hop-15. You can even count the number of hops on the label – there are 15 of them.

As the brewer proclaims, “This is definitely not your dad’s 30 weight!”

Port Brewing uses that slogan for regular Old Viscosity, as well as this barrel aged special edition. With multiple references to oil, you know you’re about to have a stout that pushes the “weight” envelope.